Wow, McDonald pulls the victory out of nowhere here after looking to be in a tough spot against Kanehara who had controlled him on the mat in the first round and taken him down again in the second. Kanehara worked his way to an arm triangle choke and it looked tight, but McDonald managed to get his head free and then immediately scrambled to his opponents back and sunk in the fight-ending rear-naked choke.

Alex Morono defeats Kyle Noke by split decision (29-28 x2, 27-30)

Short notice replacement Morono produces an upset victory over Noke here after a spirited scrap. Both men were swinging for the fences in the opening round, but Noke kept his composure a bit more with more accuracy and discipline to his work while Morono was getting a bit wild with winging shots. However, Morono did land a very hard right hand that may well have broken Noke’s nose and that bothered him throughout the fight. In the second round both men initially showed a willingness to exchange, but Noke clinched and was able to hop onto Morono’s back, only to then slide off with Morono getting on top. Noke got back up and this time it was Morono’s turn to jump on his back and then almost immediately slide off. Noke gladly took the opportunity to get on top, but had to fight off a leg lock attack and then ended the round with strikes. In the final round Morono was perhaps starting to tire but still keeping up a decent pace regardless, but Noke was landing the better strikes. In the final minute Noke scored a takedown, but soon found himself in real trouble as Morono worked an armbar submission. There were some tense moments as Noke worked himself out of danger before the final bell. Competitive fight, but it seemed Noke may have edged it overall. However, two judges disagree with that assessment and it’s Morono who earns the split decision win. Nice win for him, and Noke certainly was wearing more damage to his face at the end of the fight.

This was a gritty fight with Kish taking the action to Ansaroff from the opening bell. However, despite the former muay thai champions aggression Ansaroff showed a willingness to respond in kind and was catching her with some good hooks and doing her best to also keep Kish at bay with push kicks. Kish was relentless with her forward pressure though, rushing in with powerful punches and leg kicks while also looking for the muay thai clinch and working knees when in close. In the second round Ansaroff hurt Kish with a hook and then followed up with a head kick which appeared to have her opponent in trouble for a moment, but it led to a key moment as Kish switched up her strategy and landed a head and arm throw and she was able to stay on top for the rest of the round. Ansaroff gave her a taste of her own medicine with a takedown early in the third round, but Kish stayed active from her back trying for submissions and then got back upright. Kish was immediately back on the offensive while Ansaroff looked to be fading and soon after she was taken down. Kish was able to get to full mount and then took her back, but Ansaroff managed to get back on top in the final minute of the fight. Certainly a competitive showing from both men, but Kish was consitently pushing the pace and she earns a unanimous decision victory.

Drew Dober defeats Scott Holtzman by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Competitive, hard fought battle here between two closely matched competitors. Dober got the better of the first round with body lock takedowns being a key factor for him, but in the middle stanza it was Holtzman who was repeatedly able to take his opponent to the mat. Just when it looked like Holtzman had gained the upperhand Dober came out with renewed purpose in the final minutes and it was him who was winning the takedown battle on a number of occaions and also landed his best ground and pound strikes of the contest which would at one stage lead for a brief stoppage for a doctor to check on Holtzman who was bleeding from a cut to his face. He was ok to fight on, but Dober continued to outwork him and grind his way to winning both the round, and ultimately the fight.

This fight lived up to the billing with some exciting action, particularly in the opening round. Duffy started brightly, hurting Poirier with a shot during an early exchange and then following up with some hurtful blows to the body as Poirier covered up against the cage. Poirier came back strongly though, landing some nice punches of his own to the face before scoring a takedown. He was able to land some decent punches and a good elbow from there before they got back upright, with both men’s noses bleeding by this stage. Some more spirited striking exchanges ended the round. In the second round Poirier was able to take Duffy down again and controlled pretty much the whole five minutes spell there despite blood pouring from his nose, landing some good ground and pound along the way, including some vicious elbows to the head. Duffy, who’s left eye was badly swollen, had some work to do in the third and he still looked dangerous on the feet, but Poirier was again able to take him down. He didn’t get it all his own way this time though as Duffy was eventually able to find room to threaten with a leg lock and that forced Poirier to defend and break away before getting back on top. The action stalled and they stood up and got back to striking, with Duffy looking to have more pop left in his punches. However, just as he was getting busy Poirier moved in and landed another vital takedown. Duffy did threaten with a triangle choke in the dying seconds, but there wasn’t enough time to go for a finish and so Poirier was the rightful winner on the scorecards.

Michinori Tanaka defeats Joe Soto by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)

Tanaka got the better of Soto in the opening two rounds with busier work on the feet along with a few takedowns, though Soto did threaten with submission attempts from his back. In the third Soto put his foot on the accelerator, goading Tanaka into trading strikes with him, then landing the better, cleaner shots during frequent exchanges. Soto also threatened with a guillotine choke when Tanaka took him to the mat, and even landed a takedown of his own in the final stages of the fight, but while that gave the judges food for though it wasn’t enough to earn the win, with Tanaka getting the nod via split decision.

Sheldon Westcott defeats Edgar Garcia by TKO at 3.12mins of Rd1

Westcott was able to get Garcia down early in the opening round, then took control of his opponent back, flattened him out and then chipped away with ground and pound to produce the TKO finish.

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.

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